


Have You Ever Been In Love?

by bluemandycat



Category: Archvillain Series - Barry Lyga
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, a lifetime of emotions, high school experience, post-yesterday again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 15:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16139999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemandycat/pseuds/bluemandycat
Summary: “Have you ever been in love?”Mighty Mike is twenty-four, and he’s sweating, and there are lights shining in his eyes. The cameras are trained on him, and viewers at home are undoubtedly waiting for his response. As is the beautiful talk show host, her hands clasped expectantly.And the thing is, Mike doesn’t know.





	Have You Ever Been In Love?

**Author's Note:**

> yo yo yo i'm back w another fic!! enjoy it!!!
> 
> i'll admit i'm a little bit buzzed so like. pls be gentle with the latter half of this fic.

“Have you ever been in love?”

 

Mighty Mike is twenty-four, and he’s sweating, and there are lights shining in his eyes. The cameras are trained on him, and viewers at home are undoubtedly waiting for his response. As is the beautiful talk show host, her hands clasped expectantly. 

 

And the thing is, Mike doesn’t know. 

 

Love? Of course he’s felt love. He loves the other members of the Heroes Club. He loves Mairi. He loves his adoptive parents, and his foster siblings. He loves dogs and hot chocolate and high-up places. But being  _ in  _ love is a whole other ballpark. 

 

He has had girlfriends, sure. There was Dani in middle school, and then Karen and Melinda in high school, and then it was Angie in college, and then Lauren, Maxine, and Melinda again, and now nobody. But love isn’t assured when you enter a relationship. Sure, he had liked those girls, and he didn’t regret his previous relationships, but it just didn’t go deep.

 

But he has to give an answer. 

 

If he says no, that means months of him being stalked and harassed and accosted on social media. That means months of torture before he gives in and gets another girlfriend. Another person he can’t connect to. 

 

There are very few people that he  _ can  _ connect to. He’s just now realizing this. 

 

Mairi is one of those people, but she’s not an answer he can give. Like, he loves her, but she’s very much taken, and also very much a lesbian. She’s engaged to a member of the Heroes Club, Maelstrom. They’ve been dating since high school, and the wedding is planned for next May. She asked Mike to be part of her bridal party. She’s unavailable. But the fact remains that she’s one of the only people who has stood by him through thick and thin, through body swaps and alternate dimensions and fights with clones. Through losing his powers and regaining them. She’s his best friend, and his longest female relationship. 

 

The Giggler is off the table. Her (His? Their? Mike isn’t up to date on their current pronouns) attention is profoundly captivated by other people. One of these people is the Armored Charmer, another Heroes Club member, who would probably kick Mike’s ass if he found out that the Giggler and Mike were an item. Which they will never be. 

 

The Mad Mask and Walter Lundergaard are also off the table, because they traumatized Mairi. 

 

Kyle is the only option, Mike tells himself, even though there are approximately seven billion people on the planet. 

 

——-

 

_ “I saw what you did. Putting back the statue, I mean. It was nice. But you messed with a crime scene.” Mike reaches out a hand. He’s twelve years old, and all that he knows is kindness and hope and light.  _

 

_ The Blue Freak flinches. “I didn’t do it to be nice. I just like imagining the look on their faces when they come back to find the statue in its place.” _

 

_ He’s small. He’s smaller than Mike remembers him being from the Dirt Monster or the Mighty Mike Day attacks. He’s covered with layers and layers of cloth, hoodies, t-shirts, bandannas; so many Mike can’t even tell his body type. But he looks twelve.  _

 

——

 

_ They’re on top of the lighthouse, after the time capsule incident. It’s night, and the stars are out. Cicadas buzz in the distance and the sky isn’t cloudy at all. _

 

_ “Okay, so which one is Pegasus?” Mike asks. _

 

_ The Blue Freak grabs his hand roughly and directs him to it. “There’s Pegasus. And then up north is Ursa Minor. That’s the bear.” _

 

_ “That’s me,” Mike says. _

 

_ “Draco is under it,” the Blue Freak says, guiding Mike’s hand. “That’s the Mad Mask.” _

 

_ “Which one are you?” _

 

_ “I don’t know. Maybe Orion. See his belt?” _

 

_ Mike can almost touch the belt of three stars. “You worried me. I thought you might have died.” _

 

_ “It’ll take more than Walter Lundergaard to kill me.” _

 

–––-

 

_ “You’re in my body!” Kyle exclaims.  _

 

_ “You’re in mine!” Mike yells back. They’re still twelve, and Mike looks into his own eyes, wide with fear. Are they really that blue? “What happened?” _

 

_ Kyle casts his eyes downwards, at rippling muscles and tan skin and freckles. “Something went wrong with my invention.” _

 

_ “You’re an inventor?” _

 

_ He rolls his—your—eyes.  “Yeah. And there’s currently a rabbit flying around with your powers, so try not to dwell on it.” _

 

_ (Later that week, Mike finds out that he’s the Blue Freak. He steals some of Mike’s powers so that he can get his super-brain back. Nobody’s surprised.) _

 

_ ——- _

 

_ They’re fourteen, and there’s a new hero in town. Or so everyone says. He has a heart mask and dark swooping hair. And everyone loves him. _

 

_ “Armored Charmer!” they all cry. “Armored Charmer, look at me! Love me!” _

 

_ And the Armored Charmer says, “Of course, everyone! I’m irresistible!” _

 

_ And they echo back. “You’re irresistible!” _

 

_ Mike isn’t affected by the mania. He doesn’t see the appeal of this ‘Armored Charmer.’ He’s like Kyle – the Blue Freak – in a lot of ways. Except for his eyes. His eyes are cold. _

 

_ Still, he figures that it’s just a passing craze, until he sees Kyle and the Armored Charmer talking. _

 

_ “How do you get your hair so shiny?” Kyle asks. _

 

_ Armored Charmer runs a hand through it. “It’s natural.” _

 

_ “Oh.” Kyle looks down sadly. “My hair is so dull. How do you look so effortless?” _

 

_ “Effortless?” the Armored Charmer asks. _

 

_ “Effortlessly good-looking. Why is every other guy effortlessly good looking?” _

 

_ “I think you’re–” And then Mike sees red, rushing in before the Armored Charmer could finish his sentence. As it turned out, the Armored Charmer had been hypnotizing the entire town, and beating him up was the key to breaking the town-wide trance. _ __   
  


_ Although Mighty Mike saves the day, Kyle’s words stick with him. Does Kyle think he’s ‘effortlessly good-looking?” _

 

_ –––– _

 

_ “I feel shitty,” says Kyle (the Blue Freak? Azure Avenger? Mike still isn’t sure what to call him). They’re thirteen, sitting next to each other in costume (although Kyle’s is significantly more aerodynamic than it was when they were twelve) and Mike’s shoulder is bleeding where he scraped it against a stucco wall.  _

 

_ “Language,” Mike says automatically. “Why?” _

 

_ “I don’t know.” Kyle looks down. “Depression, I guess.” _

 

_ “It sucks.” _

 

_ “I know,” Kyle says. “I don’t know why I feel guilty, but I do. Maybe it’s because you’re bleeding, and I know it’s my fault.” _

 

_ “The building was in the way,” Mike replies.  _

 

_ “Not that,” Kyle says. “Last year. When I stole some of your plasma.” Mike shoots him a confused look. “The stuff that gives you superpowers. It got me my brain back, but you lost something, right?” _

 

_ Mike nods slightly. “How did you know?” Nobody else had noticed, except for Mairi.  _

 

_ “You never used to bleed.” Kyle says it matter-of-factly, but it breaks Mike’s heart to hear.  _

 

_ Mike reaches down and unfastens the clasps on his long metal glove and lets it drop to the ground. He does the same with his smaller gauntlet. A relic of the time when he still had his invulnerability. He takes his off-hand, his right hand, and places it in Kyle’s lap. “You’re the only other person besides Mairi to see this.” _

 

_ Kyle stares down at the exposed scar tissue lining Mike’s knuckles. Webbing down from his pinky to the end of his thumb, it’s a long scar that looks like it was seared into his skin. Because it was.  _

 

_ “Last year, when we fought the zombies, I lost my powers. And I tried to punch something, and I split my knuckles open. That’s when I found out that I don’t heal. It just kept bleeding and bleeding, no matter how long I waited. So I took matters into my own hands.” Mike closes his fist. “Literally. When you took away my invulnerability, the injuries kept cropping up. I don’t want to worry anybody. But it hurts.” _

 

_ Kyle’s hands, small and covered with blue opera gloves, reach down and cup Mike’s fist. His fingers trace the crooked scar. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.  _

 

_ “It only hurts for a minute,” Mike says, trying to console him. “Before the nerve endings go dead and I can finish it cleanly.” _

 

_ Kyle’s two hands squeeze Mike’s one, and he doesn’t make eye contact.  _

 

_ —- _

 

_ They’re fifteen and playing a game together on the side. A “you ask a question, I answer honestly, I ask a question, you answer honestly” game. They sneak questions to each other in class, in battles, in every part of life. There’s no purpose to it, exactly, but it’s still fun. _

 

_ “What was the worst place that you forgot someone’s name?”  Kyle whispers during History. _

 

_ “I met the President once. I forgot her name midway through the conversation. I just had to smile and pretend that I knew what was going on. It sucked,” Mike whispers back. _

 

_ Later that day, walking home from school, Mike asks, “Are you going to learn how to drive?” _

 

_ “I don’t know,” says Kyle. “I can’t fly anymore, but I’d still feel silly getting in a car. It wouldn’t be nearly as fast as I’m used to, and there would be so many hazards in the way. Is that stupid?” _

 

_ Kyle could never do anything stupid in Mike’s eyes. “Of course not,” he says. “I probably am going to learn how to drive.” He chuckles. “The media won’t let a sixteen-year old celebrity get away with  _ not  _ driving.” _

 

_ Kyle laughs too, bitterly. “Right. The media.”  _

 

_ “Your turn,” Mike says, as they turn onto Kyle’s street.  _

 

_ “Who was your first crush?” _

 

_ Mike shrugs. “Mairi, I guess. She was one of the first people that was nice to me.” _

 

_ “But she’s gay,” Kyle says.  _

 

_ “But she’s gay,” Mike agrees.  _

 

_ “You know that I’m gay, too, right?” Kyle says. It seems to just fly out of his mouth, and he immediately blushes in embarrassment.  _

 

_ “No,” says Mike, but it doesn’t surprise him. That stuff with the Armored Charmer makes more sense, in hindsight. _

 

_ “Oh,” says Kyle. “I am.” _

 

_ “Okay,” Mike shrugs.  _

 

_ “Okay.” _

 

_ “Have you ever had a boyfriend?” They’re outside Kyle’s house now.  _

 

_ “Not a real one,” says Kyle.  _

 

_ —— _

 

_ Days later, Mike brings it up again. “How did you know you were gay?” _

 

_ “I don’t know,” says Kyle. “I guess a lot of people thought Mairi and I were dating, but she and I never saw it that way. I love her, a lot. She’s my favorite person. But I just never felt like I could feel that deeply about another girl. I just like guys, I guess. I don’t know.” _

 

_ “Did you ever have a crush on a boy?” _

 

_ “Yeah. The Mad Mask.” Kyle sees Mike’s raised eyebrow, and adds, “Before he betrayed me. He made me feel so...wanted. Like I was the only person in the universe that he wanted around, and that everyone else could burn. Turned out that I was just like everyone else to him.” _

 

_ “You’re in the villains club with him now.” _

 

_ “It’s difficult,” says Kyle. “Cause I still sort of feel it. Even if it’s the wrong thing to feel for that kind of person.” _

 

_ “Did he kiss you?” Mike asks.  _

 

_ “No,” says Kyle.  _

 

_ “Good.” _

 

_ —— _

 

_ They don’t talk about that, for months. Early fall turns into late fall. Kyle has his sixteenth birthday, and then Mike has his. Mike’s is a significantly bigger affair. Kyle only manages to catch him once during the festivities. _

 

_ “Hey, birthday boy,” Kyle says, so smugly, so easily. _

 

_ “Hey,” Mike replies. It’s about two in the morning. The party is raging. He’s already walked in on Mairi and her new girlfriend making out in the unisex bathroom, and the Armored Charmer snorting something in a janitor’s closet. People keep on asking him to do shots or smoke with them, but his biochemistry makes it hard for him to get inebriated, even while missing a part of his invulnerability. At most, he’s a bit buzzed. “You came.” _

 

_ “I’m not the only one,” Kyle remarks. Sarcasm. Kyle’s always been sarcastic. And mean. So why is Mike so relieved to see him here? _

 

_ “I’m glad you’re here.” It spills out of Mike’s mouth. _

 

_ “Couldn’t miss your saccharine sixteen, now could I?” At Mike’s look, Kyle sighs. “Saccharine means super sweet, Mike. Like sickeningly sweet.” _

 

_ “You’re so smart.” Kyle’s gray eyes reflect the red and green lights that bounce around the Bouring Community Center.  _

 

_ “I know I am. I brought you a gift,” Kyle says. He holds out an oddly-shaped present. It’s wrapped with butcher paper and masking tape. The butcher paper has little hand-drawn stars on it. Or maybe they’re pentagrams. Mike’s a little too buzzed to discern the difference. _

 

_ Mike takes it out of Kyle’s hand, and makes to open it. “Not yet,” says Kyle, tapping the side of his nose. “Wait till you open the others. Wanna blow everyone else’s out of the water.” _

 

_ “You’re staying?” Mike asks. _

 

_ “Far from it,” Kyle says. “Loud parties don’t work well with me.” He taps his ears, and Mike registers the bluetooth earpiece. Erasmus, probably working his hardest to block out the din of the people. _

 

_ “I wish you’d stay and dance.” _

 

_ Kyle laughs, the green light glinting off of his teeth. He has a really nice genuine smile. Mike doesn’t usually get to see Kyle smile, unless it’s in schadenfreude. So he savors it. “You’re adorable like this. See you in school.” And then he’s gone. _

 

_ ––– _

 

_ The gift is a sort of robotic shoulder armor, one that connects to his neck and then unfolds over his shoulders and around his arms to connect with his gauntlets, effectively protecting his upper chest but leaving his stomach exposed. It matches perfectly with the gold of his gauntlets. Mike can almost picture Kyle hunched over, cross-referencing photos while plotting easy-to-reach targets to leave exposed. _

 

_ He loves it. _

 

_ ––– _

 

_ Sixteen and a half. They’re sixteen and a half, the both of them. Kyle is wearing his Blue Freak outfit. The aerodynamic cloth of the costume is infused with tiny intelligences now, no bigger than a freckle. They’re no Erasmus, but they help keep Kyle safe. As far as Mike knows. _

 

_ Mike has his gauntlets and shoulder armor off. They’re sitting on top of a building, their legs kicking over the sides and their thighs touching. It’s not gay, though. It can’t be gay. _

 

_ “Are the Mad Mask and the Giggler okay?” Mike asks. “Why is it just you today?” He had had to send Maelstrom and the Armored Charmer home. _

 

_ “Sick day,” Kyle shrugs. “Thought I’d come out anyway.” _

 

_ “You came out a while ago,” Mike jokes. _

 

_ Kyle kind of half-smiles. “Touche.” _

 

_ “Uh, Kyle?” _

 

_ “Blue Freak.” Right, right. Kyle liked Mike to call him Blue Freak when they were fighting, so nobody would find out his secret identity. _

 

_ “Blue Freak. Are you single?” _

 

_ “What?” _

 

_ It’s something Mike has been mulling over for a while. “Are you in a relationship?” _ __   
  


_ “No?”  _

 

_ “Okay, good,” Mike says.  _

 

_ “Was there, like, a reason behind that question, or…?” Kyle remarks sarcastically. _

 

_ Instead of answering, Mike grabs Kyle’s hand and avoids eye contact. Mike feels Kyle tense, and then relax, and then return the grip. _

 

_ ––– _

 

_ Prom night. It’s the night they’ve been waiting for since freshman year, according to high school movies. Mike and Mairi and Maelstrom and Armored Charmer are all sitting at the same table. Mairi looks lovely in a ruby-red floor length dress, and Maelstrom has her fingers linked with her girlfriend’s protectively. Maelstrom is wearing a button down vest with slacks and an orange tie. Her sleeves are pushed up to her elbows. The Armored Charmer is wearing a garish pink suit and keeps on glancing over at the Villains Club. _

 

_ “Dude, if you want to ask the Giggler to dance, just do it,” Maelstrom says. “You’re making me anxious with all the glancing you’re doing.” _

 

_ “They’re out of my league,”  Armored Charmer mumbles. _

 

_ “They’re on the FBI’s Most Wanted list,” Maelstrom retorts. Armored Charmer’s only response is a grunt of begrudging agreement.  _

 

_ “Give AC a break,” says Mairi to her girlfriend. “He doesn’t have a beautiful date, like I do.” _

 

_ Maelstrom laughs bashfully. “Cause he’s too chickenshit to ask his crush out.” _

 

_ “AC, are you good?” Mike asks.  _

 

_ AC twiddles his fingers together. This is maybe the most nervous Mike has ever seen him. “I’m just so scared of going over there. What if she rejects me when I ask her to dance? I’d literally die.” _

 

_ “No you wouldn’t,” Mike says. “She won’t reject you. She likes you. Haven’t you two been going out?” _

 

_ “Hooking up,” shrugs AC. “It’s not the same.” _

 

_ “Dude, if they’re willing to look at your dick, then they’re probably fine with dancing with you,” says Mairi. _

 

_ “I’ll come with you,” Mike offers quickly, before Mairi can make any more dick talk. By the time he and AC are back, Mairi and Mael will be at the Holiday Inn.  _

 

_ He and AC stand up, and cross the dance floor to the Villains Club. Kyle, Walter, the Mad Mask,, and the Giggler are all there. Walter and the Mad Mask are wearing traditional black suits, although Walter has paired his with a dark brown shirt, and the Mad Mask has his cape draped over it. The mask is off, revealing a scarred but handsome face. The Giggler is wearing a long purple gown, with white opera gloves and about a million sparkly things hanging out of their hair. Kyle cuts an impressive figure in a sapphire suit with white dancing gloves. _

 

_ “Uh, Giggler, will you…?” the Armored Charmer begins. _

 

_ “Just get out there,” they say, impatiently leading him out towards the dance floor. AC looks like he just won the lottery. Kyle steps up to Mike. _

 

_ “You look dashing,” says Kyle. _

 

_ “Right back at you,” Mike says, and then immediately cringes. Jesus. How dumb can he get? _

 

_ Fortunately for him, Kyle laughs. “I tried not to get too much graphite on the suit – I was working in the lab before this.” _

 

_ “On?” Mike asks. _

 

_ “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Kyle winks at him, and Mike’s stomach flutters. _

 

_ A slow song comes on. _

 

_ It’s prom night.  _

 

_ Mike should just do what he wants. _

 

_ It’s prom night, after all.  _

 

_ Even if what he wants is dumb. _

 

_ He extends a hand to Kyle. “Kyle Camden, may I have this… no, will you slow… can we go dance?” _

 

_ Surprise flickers over Kyle’s face, replaced with a quiet grin. Kyle takes his hand without a word, and they walk out to the dance floor. Mike tries to ignore the Mad Mask’s eyes burning a hole into the back of his head. _

 

_ He takes Kyle by the waist, and Kyle wraps his arms around Mike’s neck. They sway in time to the music. Mike steps on Kyle’s feet.  _

 

_ “Sorry,” Mike whispers down at Kyle. Kyle is quite a bit shorter than him, and it’s only now, in such close proximity, that Mike is realizing that. _

 

_ “It’s okay,” says Kyle. He stands on his tiptoes and whispers against Mike’s neck, “I wish I didn’t like you so much, Mighty Mike.” _

 

_ And damn if Mike doesn’t want to kiss him right then. _

 

_ But he can’t. Because it’s Bouring and it’s school and it’s the world and if word got out about him kissing a boy – a boy who happens to be his archvillain– he’d never enjoy a day of peace again. _

 

_ Instead he holds Kyle close and rests his chin on Kyle’s shoulder. _

 

_ “My place?” Kyle whispers seductively.  _

 

_ And Mike doesn’t know how to answer. _

 

_ ––– _

 

“Mike?”

 

“Huh?” Mike says, snapping out of the haze. He had spaced out. Again. Spaced out about Kyle, about what life had been like before he had  _ fucked up  _ and the Mad Mask had lost an eye and Kyle had yelled at him that he never wanted to see him again–

 

“The question, Mighty Mike? Have you ever been in love?” says the too-pretty interviewer, her face caked in powder.

 

And the answer is easy.

 

“Of course."

**Author's Note:**

> kudo/comment/message archvillain-fandom on tumblr and tell me what you think!!!


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